My son and I just built this shelf unit for his room. It is 6’x6’ which is too big to move around the house. We couldn’t split it vertically because we wanted the shelves to span the width and attach through holes. Instead, we split it horizontally in a way I haven’t seen before. It worked really well so I thought I should share.
The concern was how to connect and support the top section. I planned on using the new Maker Pipe coupling but once I had them on hand, I didn’t feel they were right for a compressive force. A standard set-screw coupling supported the junction more completely. It also would be easier to set the top on the bottom and take it off again. But I was worried about it not having any support from side to side. I came up with the solution you see here. I put a 1/2” section inside the 3/4” conduit. It is about 6 inches longer than the outer pipe so it sticks up. The top section fits over those and is perfectly lined up with the coupling offering some added side-to-side support. The 1/2” conduit has a little play so we added a ring of shrink wrap below the coupling to keep it from clanging when knocked.
With six of these all holding each other in place side to side, the unit feels solid as a rock. It was also pretty easy to set the top on, then tighten the set screws. The bonus is that we think the coupling looks really nice too.
The method of attaching the shelves through holes was much harder than I thought it would be. The plywood was cut at Home Depot and I didn’t notice the tiny differences before I cut the holes in from the corners. The result was that things didn’t exactly line up. I’d really cut the holes too tight as well. So I took a single board as a template and cut a slightly wider hole to match on each other shelf. It was a pain but the results are really nice looking. That said, it’s altogether far more difficult than laying removable shelves across. I warn against it unless you really want the look.
The concern was how to connect and support the top section. I planned on using the new Maker Pipe coupling but once I had them on hand, I didn’t feel they were right for a compressive force. A standard set-screw coupling supported the junction more completely. It also would be easier to set the top on the bottom and take it off again. But I was worried about it not having any support from side to side. I came up with the solution you see here. I put a 1/2” section inside the 3/4” conduit. It is about 6 inches longer than the outer pipe so it sticks up. The top section fits over those and is perfectly lined up with the coupling offering some added side-to-side support. The 1/2” conduit has a little play so we added a ring of shrink wrap below the coupling to keep it from clanging when knocked.
With six of these all holding each other in place side to side, the unit feels solid as a rock. It was also pretty easy to set the top on, then tighten the set screws. The bonus is that we think the coupling looks really nice too.
The method of attaching the shelves through holes was much harder than I thought it would be. The plywood was cut at Home Depot and I didn’t notice the tiny differences before I cut the holes in from the corners. The result was that things didn’t exactly line up. I’d really cut the holes too tight as well. So I took a single board as a template and cut a slightly wider hole to match on each other shelf. It was a pain but the results are really nice looking. That said, it’s altogether far more difficult than laying removable shelves across. I warn against it unless you really want the look.
